Teachings on the Prayer of the Heart in the Greek and Syrian Fathers

Teachings on the Prayer of the Heart in the Greek and Syrian FathersSyriaca.org: The Syriac Reference PortalThe National Endowment for the HumanitiesThe International Balzan Prize FoundationDavid A. Michelsoncbsc_adminRecord added to Zotero bycbsc_adminSyriaca.org: The Syriac Reference Portalhttp://syriaca.org/cbss/NSZMD4S7/tei

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CREATED: This bibl record was autogenerated from a Zotero record.JillGatherTeachings on the Prayer of the Heart in the Greek and Syrian Fathershttp://syriaca.org/cbss/NSZMD4S7https://www.zotero.org/groups/a_comprehensive_bibliography_on_syriac_studies/items/NSZMD4S7https://www.zotero.org/groups/4861694/items/NSZMD4S72009The objective of this dissertation is to consider the embodied, relational nature of early Christian thought by examining the doctrine of the prayer of the heart. The opening discussion explores salient features of this ancient practice, its theological foundation, and biblical heritage. It introduces the two strands of early Christian mystical thought most important to the formation and progressive flowering of the prayer of the heart, the Greek and the Syrian mystical strands. The introductory discussion further proposes the inherent compatibility and complementary nature of these two strands. The main body of the dissertation seeks to establish the pro-body, pro-community orientation of the prayer of the heart by considering pertinent early Christian primary sources. After an initial exploration of holistic biblical anthropology, attention is given to prominent representatives of the Syrian mystical strand, namely Aphrahat, Ephrem the Syrian, and Macarius. To elucidate the Greek Christian background of the prayer of the heart, ascetical writings by Origen of Alexandria and Evagrius of Pontus are considered thereafter. The development of the prayer of the heart is traced into the sixth and seventh centuries at the hand of writings by Dionysius the Areopagite and Maximus the Confessor. Throughout the main body of the dissertation, the deeply experiential, lived nature of the quest for God is emphasized. It is being suggested that early Christians viewed the mystical journey as a venture that involved every facet of human existence and called for the steady deepening of relations with the self--including the body, the local community, and the world at large. The conclusion of the study examines the relevance of the prayer of the heart for contemporary religious seekers. Gather, Jill. “Teachings on the Prayer of the Heart in the Greek and Syrian Fathers.” Ph.D. dissertation, Union Theological Seminary, New York, 2009. Jill Gather, Teachings on the Prayer of the Heart in the Greek and Syrian Fathers (Ph.D. dissertation, Union Theological Seminary, New York, 2009).AphrahatEphremIV CEPseudo-Macariusprayerspirituality